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Multimodal WFH setup: flight SIM, EE lab, and music studio in 60sqft/5.5M²

https://www.sdo.group/study
180•brunohaid•3d ago

Comments

_fat_santa•8h ago
It's cool but also kinda wild to hire a design firm to figure out the layout of your home office. Personally my home office is very "personal" and one of the things I enjoyed the most is figuring out where everything should go.

To me this is the same as hiring a development firm to build you a set of dotfiles.

brcmthrowaway•8h ago
This person is probably overemployed and making $1M
ubb_server•7h ago
What makes you think that?
isoprophlex•7h ago
The fact that there's a blog post by a design studio on how they shoved a bunch of shelves, acoustic padding, sixty computer monitors and a flight sim controller into a utility cupboard.
tobr•7h ago
If this was a write-up about someone’s personal WFH office setup, it would be pretty cool. Written as a case by a design firm it seems very underwhelming. It just looks like a tiny room crammed with equipment. Wouldn’t you at least go for custom-made shelving to use every last millimeter of the room as well as possible?
ajcp•6h ago
If you read the writeup you'll see that it was part aesthetic choice and price consideration.
ajcp•6h ago
The client is the "design firm". The website is for their own firm and they used their own office in their portfolio.
dpc_01234•8h ago
How do you call these plug into holes every inch frames used for this? I could use something like this for related projects.
cameron_b•8h ago
I'm guessing you mean the support structure for the desk and shelves, which seems to be a nicer version of something like

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-4814/Wide-Span-Storag...

or perhaps the same thing ( in several sizes ) with a coat of gloss paint

evanjrowley•7h ago
There really is no precise name for these.

Source: A technology hoarder who has too many shelves like this full of junk.

Edit: I stand corrected by @bobson381

I have several of these under the Gorilla Rack brand name and they're sold as Industrial Shelving Units. Home Depot in the US also sells these under the Muscle Rack and Edsal brands. These shelves are good, but I caution against using them in rooms with uneven floors (i.e., basement floors) because the feet are not adjustable. The particle board shelf surfaces can also deteriorate easily in moist environments. OP's shelf is one coffee spill away from a ruined shelf. That particle board is also made with formaldehyde and water damage will release it, FYI.

I have even more Wire Rack Shelves from various brands, all mostly with interchangable parts. A major brand is Nexel. There's also a lot of good parts available through the Metro brand sold by The Container Store. I appreciate the Wire Rack Shelving for it's modularity, adjustable feet, and also the ability to use caster wheels. You can always cut your own solid shelf surface from whatever material you like. The drawback is these Wire Rack Shelves cost twice as much as the Industrial Shelving Units.

dpc_01234•5h ago
Thanks. Good pointers.

I do have a whole rack in a garage kind of like it, but I was hoping I could get something nicer and painted like in the article, ideally with different length elements, so I could make custom furniture from them, and then just cut MDF boards to size or something.

evanjrowley•4h ago
Good luck on your project! Btw, a lot of these racks come with plastic feet. You could cut shorter lengths from the bottom using an angle grinder or saw rated for metal, then hide the rough ends with the feet.

Actually, I don't know if those are really plastic feet, or if they're just added to prevent metal from poking holes in the cardboard box during shipping.

mxfh•4h ago
Why not some finished birch plywood for surfaces you work on? I get worried about my wrists just looking at that particle board.
bobson381•7h ago
Teardrop shelving! For the shape of the holes.
brunohaid•7h ago
Most common term in the US is something like Boltless Shelving, specific shelves used here were https://www.globalindustrial.com/c/storage/shelving/boltless...
ramses0•4h ago
Also look into "SuperStrut" https://www.google.com/search?q=superstrut
jasonpeacock•8h ago
That's a lot of words for "We put some industrial shelving in a closet with a keyboard and computer monitors, and we made it all beige."
FirmwareBurner•7h ago
How else do you think designers can justify their inflated rates? Wrap it in in a fancy word salad to elevate it and sell it to wealthy urbanites.

Reminds me of that scene[1] from the Silicon Valley TV show where that designer was tasked to design a server box and he started the meeting showing random pictures to the CEO with some bongo drum soundtrack in order to "establish a common vocabulary" lol, or the brand manual of the infamous Pepsi logo redesign fail[2] full of made up geometrical nature BS stories that the agency pulled out of their ass to milk Pepsi, which I'm sure is what the satire form Silicon Valley was based on.

At this point, I think designers just operate on the basis of "a fool an his money are easily parted".

[1] https://youtu.be/qyLv1dQasaY?si=yUwQU-9EQL3QMxbi&t=6

[2] https://old.reddit.com/r/Design/comments/hspqgd/pepsi_logo_r...

loa_in_•7h ago
It's not foolish. Design is subjective and it's most often a question with no objectively good answer, so it's between the designer and whoever appraises his output. There's no secret design paradigm that makes everyone happy.
FirmwareBurner•6h ago
>It's not foolish.

It is all about fooling the viewer. Like for example seeing some run down old buildings in US or Eastern Europe will make people scoff, but if you show them similar looking run down buildings in South Mediterranean Europe or Japan they will be in awe. It's about perception.

>Design is subjective

No it isn't. Just like art and people's appearances, there's unanimously objective on what's beautiful and what's ugly.

The redesigned Pepsi logo is objectively worse, which is why it was so short lived and reverted back to the original design.

People who say there's no such thing as ugly design because it's al subjective are coping hard or trying to sell their design agency.

abeppu•6h ago
... can you share with us a design for a beauty meter which objectively measures beauty? Since it's not a subjective characteristic, it should be possible to establish whether something is beautiful without a subject to perceive and experience it.
rideontime•5h ago
Which redesigned Pepsi logo are you referring to here? The one with the legendary design document[0] lasted from 2008 to 2023.

[0] https://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell...

monooso•1h ago
> Just like art and people's appearances, there's unanimously objective on what's beautiful and what's ugly.

Neither of those things is true. Plenty of artistic movements have been both praised and derided, and many people have a "type" which influences who they do (or don't) find attractive.

As to idea that there's a universally agreed-upon definition of objectively pleasing design, I suggest you take a look at the work of the Memphis Group.

isoprophlex•7h ago
I'm sorry this clearly isn't beige, this is the color of simple warm and transparent functionality of contemporary Korean and Japanese hospitality and retail spaces!
iknowstuff•6h ago
Haha this is the “Place, Japan ” meme
outside1234•5h ago
"The software you just built is a complicated version of what I could have built in Excel."
rlt•8h ago
Very cool, any maybe some people are better at managing clutter, but I would make a huge mess of this space in days.

The EE lab would put it over the top for me.

frostburg•8h ago
Very underwhelming keyboard there, given the overall effort.
gruturo•6h ago
That Das Keyboard is the only piece in the entire website I didn't quite dislike. But I'm biased as I'm typing this on one (although a Tenkeyless one - it's ridiculous to have a numpad, it's not the 80s).

The rest goes from "meh" to "gross" (that fibreboard is getting _nasty_ even with a bit of sweat over a few months, not to mention its raw edge is going to result in blood loss sooner or later)

brunohaid•3h ago
Was concerned about splinters too, but if you compress and treat/seal it a bit, it works quite well, although they do get a bit gross after 2-3 years to the point where you should flip/replace them.
frostburg•1h ago
The rest isn't particularly nice either but I would describe it more as "suboptimal decisions" than lack of effort.

They're not bad keyboards but you can get superior custom tenkeyless or even fullsize ones (if you must) without even having to deal with group buys now.

zevon•8h ago
The contrast between all that fancy equipment and the actual work surface being a cheap-as-can-be fibreboard (that will get nasty quickly and suck up all liquids) with a more or less unfinished edge that will probably feel uncomfortable is a bit too much of the designerly touch for me...
ahofmann•6h ago
Man, I got carpal tunnel syndrome just from looking at the edge of that fibreboard. I couldn't work at that "desk" for 20 minutes.
brunohaid•3h ago
Like mentioned in other comments standing desk height, concerned about it initially as well, but gave it a try and quite happy with the surface (it compresses easily and bit of treatment prevents it from getting gross in 3 months).
0cf8612b2e1e•7h ago
Musical equipment in view of the camera, so that checks at least one requirement.
vanchor3•7h ago
I'm glad they put the two pieces of Blackmagic gear in the $135 rack mount shelf, just to set it on top of the desk in the end.
brunohaid•3h ago
Used to be in the rack (bottom left) initially, but fiddling with it down there eventually got too annoying.
perryh2•7h ago
Here is my COVID bathroom office: https://x.com/perryfromsoma/status/1351396588615204872
tomas789•6h ago
I love your setup. The ingenuity of such solution is outstanding. I have so many questions but I'm afraid to ask.
brunohaid•7h ago
Oh, didn't think that'd make it to the front page, appreciated! OP and builder here.

The website was purely because a friend and I were looking for design work during lockdown and put together a couple of things we recently worked on, but basic design and build was a fun ~6 months solo project.

We had a good discussion on https://www.reddit.com/r/architecture/comments/1mlo6hu/tryin... over the weekend with more details, but also happy to answer any questions here.

Kiboneu•6h ago
Hi, where do you get your industrial shelving?
brunohaid•6h ago
https://www.globalindustrial.com/c/storage/shelving/boltless...
dbacar•5h ago
site down because of us :D
doctorhandshake•4h ago
I have a workbench from GI. It’s built like a tank and looks good, with a Boos Brothers solid maple top. YMMV but when I told them a big part of it came bent in shipping, they DGAF. That was not a good experience.
DarmokJalad1701•5h ago
Sick flight sim setup!

I basically never sim now because of how much of a hassle it is to get the whole thing setup. And then it just sits taking up space on the desk and I don't use the desktop for anything else for a while.

brunohaid•5h ago
Thanks! And: Same. It got much better since the early days of MSFS 2020, and tried picking gear that has solid drivers/good scripting APIs, but I also rarely get it out just for fun, for the same reasons (except the occasional barrel rolls in a TBM over Manhattan cravings). It is great to have for a bunch of practice runs before actually heading to a new airport for the first time though.
petcat•5h ago
It looks great, but, (no offense), that looks like the most uncomfortable home-office seating arrangement of all time. Your legs can't fit under the desk, and the low-back chair looks like it's for show, not sitting. I fear for your back!
brunohaid•5h ago
None taken! Cut the shelving to my (elbows at 90 degrees) standing desk height and used it that way about 80% of the time, and for the rest the drafting height barstool like chair worked well, as the legs are naturally angled.
NoSalt•7h ago
> "Work from home is here to stay"

Sadly, this is not true for most of us. :-(

pm90•3h ago
While there has been a step down from the pandemic max, we are still at higher levels of WFH than ever before: https://theconversation.com/us-workers-with-remote-friendly-...
lbotos•7h ago
At first I couldn't put my finger on why this website layout was beautiful but I was struggling on my 13" macbook: The two column text are too spaced apart, and really should be one column or closer together for readability.
brunohaid•7h ago
Is it the line length that's tedious, or the columnar layout itself confusing?
lbotos•4h ago
I think a little bit of both? I think UX wise I'm not expecting two columns on a website in between these "photo spreads".
nartho•6h ago
Just your average design studio's website
bee_rider•7h ago
I wonder—style is subjective and I think it looks nice. The floors are pretty and the rug looks comfy. Beige walls are, eh, well, safe pick I guess.

Preference disagreement: I absolutely need my workspace to be different from my gaming space, or I’d go totally nuts.

But, there’s an objectively correct answer for the placement of the camera, subject, monitors, and window, to avoid glare and getting washed out. Does anyone know if they did it right?

brunohaid•6h ago
Took a bit of shuffling around, biggest challenge was getting a somewhat decent frame given the incredibly small space - main camera facing the window had simple Sigma MFT lens that worked in the end, with a hood on to make sure the ring light doesn't diffuse into it.
bevr1337•6h ago
> Preference disagreement: I absolutely need my workspace to be different from my gaming space, or I’d go totally nuts

Preach. I made this wonderful office for myself. It's got name brand monitor stands, I only need one cable, the desk mat is cute, and there's a huge pegboard for all my work hardware.

After a month or so, I preferred working on the kitchen table with a laptop. Brains are funny things.

ajot•6h ago
Reminds me of the Nomadic Furniture book "cubicles". Here's an instructable showing something inspired by it.

https://www.instructables.com/The-Perfect-Instructable-build...

guhcampos•5h ago
This looks absolutely amazing, but since this is the Internet and people need to complain about stuff, I can't see the knit cloth mat working well with a wheeled chair!
brunohaid•3h ago
Haha, very good (and true) observation - but turns out if you practice 6+ months, you develop a knack for pushing chairs over uneven terrain.
varispeed•5h ago
I wouldn't be able to work in such a space for long. It kind of "squeezes the brain" if I can paint such picture what it feels. Like walls are pushing your head in and you can't think and focus.

Unfortunately such situation, in countries where space is at massive premium, leads to wasted human potential. People would love to have hobbies, experiment but simple lack of space very much prevent that.

So if your parents are not rich or you yourself don't have a job that could let you rent a workshop or studio, then it is extremely frustrating and leads to depression. I know someone who got to the point of suicide, because he couldn't find any way to get space to pursue his interests. He felt like an absolute failure and that the world didn't want him to exist.

brunohaid•3h ago
Hard to respond with something help - and/or meaningful, but still: my whole adult life oscillated (OK, oscillates) between being in the most incredible spaces and really shit situations, like being dependent on friends to crash on their sofas, live in literal garages, rebuild abandoned SROs etc for months while friends I grew up with had homes, kids, families etc. I just got lucky to be delusional / screwed up enough in just the right ways to keep going.

It's really hard to overcome that feeling once it's there, but you somehow have to find that space in yourself and through others. Some of the most talented and skilled people I know live in the weirdest places, but somehow managed to find their place. If you're lucky to live in a big city, check out spaces like Noisebridge or Resistor, or whatever your local equivalent is.

If that's not an option, maybe the internet can help. Don't know if for example engineering is your thing, but the reason I respect folks like IMSAI Guy or bigclivedotcom on Youtube so much isn't just that they really know what they're talking about, they also seem like really decent people and found their place. They don't seem to be particularly rich or fancy, and I'm sure they have their own stuff to deal with in their lives, but they kept going until they found their place. Long rant, hope it helps somehow/somewhat.

koinedad•5h ago
I was looking for the multimodal LLM homelab…got really confused for a second
djtriptych•5h ago
Love the term multimodal WFH.

Like you I have diverse, equipment-laden hobbies: guitar/piano/dj/drums/photography and work from home.

It's really hard to feel like you can quickly get to all of those activities, without reconfiguring -anything- and creating spaces tuned to all those things.

Love that this approach is easy to change w/ the industrial wall shelving.

Also appreciate touching on some of the specialized equipment that tends to come into play.

brunohaid•3h ago
That was one of the weirdest effects of the space - it almost felt like transitioning from affairs to a marriage, in a good way.

Before that, I often used to work out of random / public places, and I when I got really stuck just change scenery. Being able to switch modes built that weird sense of home, knowing that when I get stuck, I can switch modes for a bit and do / work on something else, and no matter what the space would be there for me. Hard to describe without sounding too prosaic, but really glad to have built it.

mmmlinux•4h ago
Those are some dusty remotes.
brunohaid•3h ago
It took my about 3 days to get over it after seeing it on the final images.
ge96•4h ago
Something interesting with the pictures the grading maybe, they seem matte how I'd describe it amateurly, it looks good
brunohaid•3h ago
Thanks! Had a really good camera & lenses for the day (Hasselblad X1D II with Zeiss Otus and Canon TS-E 17mm), and then post was mostly reducing colors besides brown/green/red hues a bit.
rcpt•4h ago
But where's the giant box of wires go?
brunohaid•3h ago
If you swear at them long enough they start disappearing...

Mostly bottom of back shelves and behind vertical shelf beams.

pm90•3h ago
Its interesting how many of the comments here are criticizing the cost, the decision to commission a design firm, or that it just wouldn't work for them. In which case, great! You can choose however you want to do your home office. This person put in effort to both deliberately design their home office and to share it with everyone. That's pretty amazing! And even if I might not go the same way, there are def some very cool ideas from this that I will certainly look into : )
brunohaid•3h ago
Appreciated!
sirnonw•3h ago
comfy
jahrichie•2h ago
What a peaceful setup. Which monitors are those?
brunohaid•2h ago
Eizo CS2740, really happy with them. Weird anecdote: they weren't available in the US at the time yet, so I got them off amazon.co.jp, and it was the most impressive thoughtful multi-layer cardboard packaging I ever got from any reseller. Probably my disdain for Amazon worker treatment and appreciation for Japanese care no matter what, all standing there in one impressive confusing package.
larodi•2h ago
Next is - have it all in camper, solar, satellite and all.
dmillar•1h ago
Well, I see we have very similar hobbies and careers! Nice setup.

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Multimodal WFH setup: flight SIM, EE lab, and music studio in 60sqft/5.5M²

https://www.sdo.group/study
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